


it's hard to get to know you (but i'm down)

by Missnoodles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette is Just Stressed, Not Really Salt, Post-Episode: s03 Chat Blanc, Scarf Reveal, She Doesn’t Mean It, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/pseuds/Missnoodles
Summary: When Marinette loses her cool in class after being paired with Lila for a project, Adrien wants to comfort his friend. He's still learning how, but he is doing his best.Later that day, Marinette is surprised when Adrien reaches out.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 38
Kudos: 257





	it's hard to get to know you (but i'm down)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sagansjagger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/gifts), [Rikkapikasnikka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkapikasnikka/gifts).



“Oh, Marinette, I’m so happy Madame Bustier put us together for this project! I’m really looking forward to working with you,” Lila simpered, taking Alya’s seat next to Marinette as Alya left to find her own partner. “I just wish I could do more to help. My wrist has been flaring up so much lately, that I’m afraid I’m rather useless.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid you are,” Marinette snapped. Lila gasped.

Adrien turned back in his seat to face them fully. Lila was covering her face with her hands as Marinette gathered her materials, preparing to leave. “I can’t deal with your nonsense today, Lila,” Marinette said as she pivoted around and walked straight out of the classroom.

Adrien scrambled from his seat to follow her, pushing past the other students who were still trying to find their partners. He caught up with her right outside the door.

“That was a bit harsh, Marinette. Lila seems really upset.”

“You and I both know there isn’t anything wrong with Lila’s wrist, Adrien,” Marinette said, her knuckles turning white as her grip tightened on the notebook in her hands.

Adrien reached out towards Marinette, covering her hands with one of his own. He hoped she would find it comforting. He was never sure with Marinette, but he didn’t want her to be upset. “I know, Marinette, but snapping at her isn’t going to fix the problem. Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Because I’m tired! I’m so, so tired and  _ I don’t have time for this _ ,” she said, looking past him into the hallway. __

_ “ _ But I guess that doesn’t matter to you, does it? All that matters to you is keeping everyone happy! And that’s fine for you because you’re not the one who has to take on extra work. You’re fine just sitting there while Lila and Chloé and your father and everyone else under the sun steamroll over everyone, because you can just jet off to a photoshoot and not deal with the consequences! I’m always the one dealing with the consequences! Of everything!” Marinette ranted, her voice getting slightly louder with each sentence.

She paused, and shifted her gaze directly onto him. Adrien opened his mouth to say something, anything, but the weight of her stare silenced him. “Did you know he stole the scarf I made for your birthday last year and claimed it was from him? And I let him get away with it because I wanted you to be happy! Well, I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m over this stupid crush and I’m done bending over backwards to please you!”

She was mad…at him? Had he really been that bad of a friend? How had he not noticed? How could Marinette think he didn’t care? Adrien withdrew his hand and let it fall uselessly to his side. She didn’t want his comfort. Maybe she didn’t want anything to do with him at all.

“I’m always trying to keep everyone happy because I’m responsible for everyone! For everything! I have to watch every move I make because someone might end up akumatized, and if I slip up even a little, Paris is underwater and everyone is dead! And I don’t have the energy to deal with Lila’s bullshit today, and I’m so tired of not having anyone to support me in that!” Marinette finished, panting slightly.

The tears forming in the corner of Marinette’s eyes stopped Adrien’s train of thought short. Maybe he had messed up and still had a lot to learn about friendship, but this wasn’t really about him. This was about Marinette. Marinette, who was about to cry.

“Marinette, are you okay?”

“No,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Would it help to talk about it? I’m ready to listen. Whatever you need.”

She nodded, looking at the ground.

“I have a photoshoot right after class, but I could call you after. To talk. Or you could call me. Whichever you prefer.”

“I can…call you?”

“Of course! You can always call me. I’m really sorry, Marinette, that I haven’t been a very good friend to you, but I really want to do better. You can always talk to me if you need to vent. Well, maybe not always, because photoshoots and my dad and--”

“Thank you, Adrien,” she said softly, venturing a small smile.

Adrien reached for her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, then?” 

Marinette nodded again, quickly this time, and Adrien felt something loosen in his chest. They were still friends.

“Bye, Marinette,” he said, giving her shoulder one last squeeze and turning back to the classroom to grab his bag. They’d talk later.

* * *

Marinette stared at her phone, her finger hovering over the “call” icon under “Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖.” She’d only called him once before, at Alya’s encouragement, and she’d embarrassed herself so much she ended up stealing his phone afterwards. They’d texted a few times, but rarely outside of their group chat with Alya and Nino, and even then, he’d always been the one to text first. She’d never noticed. 

“Are you going to call him, Marinette?” asked Tikki, hovering over her shoulder.

“I want to, but…” She did want to call. So, so badly. She wanted to hear his voice reassuring her that he wasn’t upset with her. She wanted to be able to talk to him, to anyone, about how stressed and worried she was.

“But what, Marinette?”

“What if he didn’t mean it? I really laid into him today, and you know how nice Adrien is. He’d probably say that to anyone who was upset. That doesn’t mean he actually wants me to call him. That’s just something people say when they want to be supportive. He probably doesn’t expect me to do it. I should just leave him alone. I don’t want to annoy him more than I already have,” Marinette said. She sighed, laying her phone face down next to her.

“Adrien didn’t seem annoyed with you, Marinette. He seemed worried. I’m sure he’d be happy to hear from you.”

“I guess, but…” Marinette rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist. “What if he isn’t?” she whispered.

Suddenly, she felt her phone buzz next to her. Slowly, she lifted it up to check. Probably Alya.

“It’s from Adrien!” Tikki chirped, flitting around Marinette’s head.

Marinette hurriedly swiped her phone to unlock it.

> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** Hey Marinette, I haven’t heard from you so I just wanted to check in to see if you’re doing better. You seemed really upset today and I want you to know I’m always here if you need to talk ❤️ 

Adrien texted her. He’d remembered that she needed to talk, and he’d  _ texted her _ . And he’d sent her a heart! Maybe she hadn’t ruined everything. He didn’t hate her. Maybe he even… no, she couldn’t think about that. She was supposed to be moving on.

Fingers shaking, she typed out a response.

> **Marinette:** Thanks Adrien! I’m really sorry for blowing up at you earlier. I’ve just been really busy lately and this project with Lila pushed me over the edge. I’m so, so sorry I said those things to you.

She pressed send and squeezed her eyes shut. Almost immediately, she felt it buzz again.

> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** Don’t apologize!
> 
> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** I just wish I had noticed sooner.
> 
> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** Also, I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but... the thing you mentioned earlier. Is it true?

Oh, no. What had she said? She’d ranted about her responsibilities… She hadn’t said anything about being Ladybug, right? No, she was sure she hadn’t. Then what…?

Oh. Oh no. She’d said she had a crush. To his face. While yelling at him. 

> **Marinette:** Haha I don’t think so! I said a lot of things! I was just upset, haha! Don’t worry about it!

Three dots popped up at the bottom of her screen. She felt her heart beating in her stomach as she watched them blink.

> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** So... you didn’t make the scarf?

The scarf! She’d mentioned the scarf!  _ That’s _ what he was asking about?

> **Marinette:** Oh… I did, actually. I’m sorry. I never meant for you to find out.

Should she have told him? Maybe she should’ve lied. Or changed the subject. Maybe he didn’t want to know. He was going to be so disappointed, knowing it was from her.

Her phone buzzed again.

> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** Thank you, Marinette. I’m sorry I never got the chance to tell you before. It was a beautiful gift and it means a lot that you would make something like that for me. I love it. ☺️

He loves it? It meant a lot to him? Marinette felt her face heating up. She’d known he liked the gift when it was from his father, but to still love it, knowing it was from her?

> **Adrien Agreste 💖☀️☔️💖:** Hey, Nathalie just called me for dinner, can we talk more later?

She quickly typed out a response assuring him it was fine, and pressed send. She smiled to herself, pulling her phone close to her chest. They could talk more later. 

* * *

Two blocks away, Adrien slipped his phone into his pocket and stood up, preparing to head to dinner. As he walked towards the door, a flash of blue caught his eye. He stopped and reached for the blue scarf where it lay across the back of his couch, running his fingers over the soft material. He smiled, thinking of how much work Marinette must’ve put into this gift. Into him. He was glad he’d been able to thank her properly, even if it was late. He couldn’t wait to talk to her again.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning to start writing fanfiction, but then accidentally read an Adrien salt prompt by [StellarStylus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarStylus) on the Miraculous Fanworks discord server and my brain said, "Fix it!" I meant to write and alternate prompt but then my hand slipped and I wrote an entire fic.


End file.
